We rode our horses down the river and stopped at the edge of a large swamp.

Looking at the reeds and the frightened waterfowl, many people feel sad because of the barrenness and wildness of this territory, and only I can see the value of these natural resources.

An ambitious plan has taken shape in my mind, using more than 1,000 years of advanced ideas, I intend to be a different kind of successful person here.

When I returned to the castle, it was getting late, only a few lights were flickering, most of the people had already slept, but the business of the roadside tavern was booming, and the peasants who had been busy all day came here to consume with a few copper plates that were rich in hand, to relieve the fatigue caused by the busy life, and if there was a chance to eat the tofu of the tavern's plump hostess, it would be wonderful.

I rode past the bustling tavern, and the soldiers behind me peeked inside, and I turned around with a smile and said to the cavalrymen behind me, "Go and be merry!" This day is a hard day, don't be unkind to the good body that God has given you. ”

They were stunned for a moment, then burst into enthusiastic cheers, shouting praises for my kindness and open-mindedness, and scrambled into the already overcrowded tavern in search of their old friend.

Entering the castle hall, Wangcai had already ordered the kitchen to prepare dinner.

People in this era generally only eat two meals a day, but the nobles with a well-to-do family mostly eat three meals or more, as a modern person with a regular diet, how can I tolerate only two meals a day, such an outrageous and unreasonable phenomenon?

So the chef of the castle would prepare a not-so-sumptuous dinner for me every day after the sun had set, which greatly delayed him from going to the back kitchen to gamble with his attendants, so the fat cook gradually became the one who hated me in the whole castle.

But it is a pity that it is not the one who hates me the most, for the one who hates me the most is now being locked up by me in the highest tower, with an intricate staircase descending and the door guarded by five of the best soldiers in kung fu, to prevent the noble lady, who is called the first female knight of Italy, from breaking down the door or committing suicide by jumping off the building.

I changed into a comfortable homestay robe, went to the edge of the chair and sat down, and instructed Wangcai, who was standing beside him, with his head bowed: "Go and invite Father Djokovic here, let the head of the stonemasons wait outside for me not to go far, and I will summon him when I have finished talking to him." ”

"Yes! My lord! ”

Wangcai bent his old waist and said to me, but the slow movements exposed his aging body and mind, I noticed that in the past few months without seeing each other, Wangcai's appearance has aged a lot, it may be a lot of heavy things, which greatly consumes his mental strength, after all, he is already an old man in his fifties, according to the standards of this era, he should have retired home to recuperate.

A short time later, Father Djokovic, dressed in a white friar's uniform and shaved St. Peter's hair, came up to me and bowed slightly.

As a clergyman, he is far more noble than us God's warriors, but he has always been polite and easy-tempered, and he is willing to associate with him as a true friend.

This noble servant of God, who is said to be the illegitimate son of a certain Italian magnate, has been fostered in the church since he was a child because of his embarrassing status, and has gradually become full of wealth and respect, determined not to marry for the rest of his life, and dedicates his life to God, and his spiritual strength is extremely strong.

In addition, Fr. Djokovic was a genius in rhetoric, fine arts and medicine, and his beautiful poems often became classics for bards, recited at aristocratic banquets of all sizes, and his lifelike painting skills were even more beloved.

It can be seen that the little white-faced pope did not bully me, and really sent the most knowledgeable priest under his command to sit in charge, no matter what the purpose, I understand the meaning of this intention.

"Count, is there anything important that you summoned me to?"

Father Djokovic nodded at me, sat down in the chair brought by the attendant, and asked in a soft tone, a voice that would have made a man who had been insomnia for a few days fall asleep quickly.

I pushed a plate of black bean paste in front of me in front of him, handed over a wooden spoon at the same time, and said to him: "I came to you to talk about some important things, but I can't treat my stomach badly, eat something first, and we will talk while eating." ”

As I spoke, I kneaded the dry bread into fine crumbs with my hands, and then stirred it with a small amount of ale to make it my favorite half-run.

"Thank you, kind lady, but God has given us quiet nights to help the brain get rid of distractions and better appreciate God's will, and it would be against God's will to feast on one's appetite at such times." The priest reverently painted a cross on his chest, and his expression was solemn like a marble sculpture of a church.

"In that case, then I'll get straight to the point!"

I quietly moved the plate back, glad that I didn't have to waste food on this elm pimple, and I ate a large mouthful of paste with satisfaction, chewed slowly, and said indistinctly:

"I think His Majesty the Pope must have told you before he sent you, that the people here are desperate to obtain the glory of the Lord, and although the conditions are difficult, what is spread out before you is a new picture waiting for the pious preacher to paint, and I have sworn to destroy the enemies of God with the sword in my hand, and now I know that you are the warriors who really destroy the enemy, because you will conquer your opponents spiritually with your piety and tenacity, so that the barbarians who believe in the pagan gods will know the mercy and love of our Lord. Taking refuge in the arms of God is not an easy task, and even more difficult to conquer. ”

The priest seemed to have switched himself to shielded conversation mode, his expression serene, appreciative, but the hollow look in his eyes revealed that he had let go of his secrets.

"You are truly a brave and fearless warrior!"

The priest nodded at me, his eyes full of affection and admiration, but we all know that the above conversation is just a warm-up politeness, and what we are going to say next is to cut to the chase.

"When I asked His Majesty the Pope, I said that the priests sent must be warriors who are willing to endure hardships and have always been steadfast in their faith, and it seems that His Majesty did not deceive me and sent the best people under the sun to me."

I stirred the paste on the plate with a wooden spoon, took a large sip of ale from my glass, and continued: "I need the most detailed map of my territory, including every settlement, mountains, rivers, forests, it must be different from all previous maps, it must be drawn accurately, it must be reduced according to the actual scale, and the approximate and precise distance can be estimated by calculation, which can help me accurately determine where the infidels are invading from, and where we should launch a counterattack, so as to gain the initiative tactically and protect God's people." ”

Fr. Djokovic smiled lightly, like a child who had spied on the minds of adults, and smiled very happily, and he stroked the wooden cross on his wrist and replied: "You can rest assured, Lord Count, that our classrooms are full of masters of drawing, and that such thing as a map will surely satisfy you." ”

As he spoke, his smile intensified, and he used the opportunity of field surveys to let the peasants in the remote areas know about her existence by the way, which was conducive to helping her quickly accumulate popularity and become the bishop of this countdom, so that she would get much more prestige and rewards than being a small scribe in Rome.

I was very satisfied with the cooperation of the priest, and continued to discuss with him the exact date and the person to set out, and decided that the day after tomorrow we would send knights to be responsible for the safety and security along the way, accompanied by several priests with drawing skills and basic knowledge of mathematics, and strive to produce the most accurate and vivid map of our time.

After discussing the details, I suddenly began to worry about whether these idealists would scribble some images of gods and ghosts in the corners of the map, just like most maps of this era, there are several elephants or dragons carrying the world under the earth, which obviously affects the visual experience.

The priest politely sent off, the representative of the Italian stonemasons and technicians, who had been waiting outside the door for a long time.

From the way he kept peeking at the structure of the room after entering, I guessed what he was thinking at the moment, perhaps in the eyes of this master stonemason from Rome, the greatest city in Europe, the castle in front of him could only be called the dung left by the ancient giants in the world, abrupt and ugly, there was not even a fountain in the courtyard, or greenery, and a stone building with no beauty in the bare branches, presumably the lord of this place must have a bad taste.

"Mr. Sneijder, the main reason I came to you is to help me design a stone bridge across the river in the west of the territory, which will be used to connect the people on both sides of the river with inconvenient transportation, strengthen communication in many places, and facilitate the timely delivery of government decrees. Given that there may be brief flooding at the beginning of spring due to snowmelt, the bridge must be strong and durable enough to withstand the wind and waves. ”

I pushed away the wooden tray that had been cleaned and there was not even any slag left, waved my hand to the master stonemason who stood with his head down and listened to my orders, and found a place to sit down by himself.

The stonemasons of this era, although they were the technical talents urgently needed by the aristocracy, were still inferior to the peasants according to the social stratification, not to mention that the nobles let him sit on the chair on an equal footing, but it also meant that he could become a human head fluttering in the wind at the head of the city tomorrow morning because of his gaffes at any time.

"No problem! My lord! As long as you have enough to eat, we guarantee that you will soon be able to connect your fiefdoms on both sides of the river. ”

The head of the stonemasons is called Sneijder, and his perennial work of wielding a stone hammer has allowed him to develop a well-proportioned muscle that everyone envies, and it is a pity not to be a warrior.

"When the collars' maps are returned, I will choose to build a new castle in a place that is easy to defend and difficult to attack, as the permanent seat of the Count's court, and I have applied to His Majesty the Emperor and His Holiness the Pope for permission to build a new castle, and it has been approved."

I completely ignored the image of the slender dagger, picking up the food scraps between my teeth, and my face was hideous and terrifying, and the construction plan of the new castle was squeezed out between my teeth.

I talked to Master Sneijder late that night, and he found a lot of architectural inspiration in my sketches of the castle, and he refused to leave anything, but forced me to tell me all the forms of architecture I knew, and how and why they were built.

Looking at the level of people's business, it is no wonder that it is the leader of the guild!